


A Little Extra Care

by Beckily



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 14:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14191125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beckily/pseuds/Beckily
Summary: She wasn't anyone fancy. She lead a simple life. First on her family's farm, then as a maid for a merchant, now as a chambermaid for Skyhold residents. If she gave a little extra thought and effort to some of the rooms, well, that was her own business.Ser Tethras was just so sad.





	A Little Extra Care

She wasn't anyone fancy. She lead a simple life. First on her family's farm, then as a maid for a merchant, now as a chambermaid for Skyhold residents. If she gave a little extra thought and effort to some of the rooms, well, that was her own business.

Ser Tethras was just so sad. 

Most people saw his joking and his stories and didn't look further, but in his quiet times, the laughter faded. She figured he had a lot to miss in his life - the obvious things like Hawke and their friends which he talked about all the time, but also the things he never mentioned. Family, a lover.

She noticed the things he likes - not in a creepy way! They just all lived together, didn't they, and if she heard the cooks talking about how much he loved the tarts, well, it wasn’t so difficult to grab a few to leave in his room, was it? And it was her job to keep his room straight and supplied, so of course she made sure he had water for washing, and it wasn't hard to give a little extra with sweet herbs for drinking. If she was stocking his tea box, it only made sense to fill it with his favorite kind instead of the general kind. 

He was, of course, very kind. He learned her name and asked about her family. He never treated her as lesser and even helped her when one of the Orlesians decided he'd like her as a bed warmer.

She made sure he had special salve to keep his skin from burning when she heard he was going to the desert. She knit him warm socks, fingerless mittens, a hat, and a scarf when she heard he was heading to Emprise du Lion. Always left an extra bar of wax for waterproofing when he was heading somewhere wet.

\--

She'd just finished cleaning his room the day before he left for Adamant (extra whiskey is the only thing she can figure is useful against a demon army), when he came into the room.

“Good afternoon, Ser Tethras! I'm just finished.”

“Lorna! Just the lady I was looking for.”

She blinked. “Did you need something?”

“Mm,” he noticed the new bottle and snorted. “I was just talking to Tiny. Apparently his chambermaid, though excellent, doesn't do all the things I thought were standard. The nicer tea, the skin creams, the excellent knitwear.” He held up the whiskey. “The extra whiskey for battling a demon army.”

“Ah.”

“So then I asked people on this hall, who you take care of. Same story there.”

She bit her lip. “Yes.”

“Well. I don't know how I got so lucky as to gain your high regard, but now I know, so I can properly appreciate it. These extras have really helped. Thank you.”

She smiled. “You're very welcome. You bring so much hope and joy into the world, I wanted to maybe bring you a bit of that.”

He eyed her a little. “Well, you have. And now I know to appreciate it that much more.”

She nodded again. “Thank you. I'll have something special when you get back. It sounds like you'll need it.”

\---

The rumors filter through slowly, from scouts and overheard conversations. Hawke died at Adamant. Lorna had to brace herself against a wall when she heard. Varric will be devastated. There was no amount of knitwear or whiskey that could ease this hurt.

She had an idea, but she couldn't do it alone. She went to her friends and they gathered their friends. They worked in evenings and random down times and by the time the forces return, three weeks later, it was ready.

\--

Varric came back from Adamant lost. Thedas without Hawke was so strange. The colors had dimmed. The sounds were muffled. Everything was just.. less. Less good, less clear, less important.

He went straight to his room, not up for any socializing.

The room was warm, the fire was lit. A small pot of soup was simmering on the fire. The small table was set, with a small loaf of bread, a little tart, and a bottle of ale. There was a fresh pot of cream for his skin, some oil for Bianca. 

On the bed, folded, he noticed a new quilt. He sat down his bag, washed his hands in the basin, and went to see. It was thick and heavy, he noticed first. It was a nice pattern, with a lot of the squares embroidered. Must have taken someone a long time.

And then he noticed the pictures. Someone had embroidered scenes from his book. There were portraits of his friends, of the main players in the city. Of Kirkwall itself, the gates, the slave statues, the skyline. Hawke. So many of Hawke. And there was writing. Varric moved closer to the fire to read, and tears finally spilled over. They'd embroidered things Hawke had said. Varric inspected every square. His life with Hawke was here. Inspiring quotes said to groups, gentle words said to friends. It was the most amazing thing anyone had ever given him.

Varric wrapped himself up in the quilt, and the weight of it felt like a hug. He carefully moved the soup off the fire and served himself a bowl, eating it with the bread, enjoying the ale and the tart. He felt less alone.

The amount of love, time, and care that had been poured into the making of the quilt was overwhelming. Still wrapped up, he opened his door and Lorna was there, sitting across the hall. She stood, with a sad smile.

He went to her, pulled her down in a hug, and cried.


End file.
